


Flash Drive

by CaptainSophieStark



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:08:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26646532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainSophieStark/pseuds/CaptainSophieStark
Summary: Y/N is a CIA agent tasked with stealing information off the main computer of a criminal organization. Everything's going smoothly until Grant Ward shows up, tasked with the same mission by SHIELD. Only one of them can successfully complete their mission; will it be Grant, or can Y/N hold off the famous SHIELD agent?
Relationships: Grant Ward/Reader
Kudos: 6





	Flash Drive

I took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly. I counted down in my head from three, and when I got to zero, I erupted from my hiding spot and turned the corner into a hallway full of armed guards. I had no gun, and I needed to get in undetected, so I had to be fast and quiet.

I took down the first guard before he even knew I was there. The second one was unconscious before he understood what was happening. I was already to the third guard before any of them managed to draw their guns.

The goal was to avoid any shots being fired (guns are too loud for my purposes), and I moved fast enough that I achieved my goal. I darted around the room so quickly that nobody wanted to take a shot for fear or hitting one of their own. I had the hallway clear in under three minutes.

I paused to separate all the unconscious guards from their weapons, then continued towards my goal: the door at the end of the hallway.

See, I wasn't just hiding in corridors and attacking guards for the challenge of it. The CIA sent me here to steal all the information I could get off the computers of an underground criminal organization we've been tracking for months. After no new developments for the past several weeks, this was our chance to get the case moving again.

I opened the door just a crack so I could peek through, and I saw another handful of guards standing over three computer techs who were working the room. I'd have to move quickly if I wanted to neutralize everyone before they could sound the alarm, but there was a reason the CIA picked me for this job.

I was the best.

I took another few deep breaths to center myself, then flung the door open to take advantage of the element of surprise while I could. I went for the techs first, so they couldn't spread the word with their computers or anything like that. I got clocked in the head while my back was turned to the guards, but I managed to recover.

I swung on the nearest guy, ducking the punch of the next one. I bobbed and weaved my way through the room until, just like the hallway, every last one of them was unconscious on the floor.

I stood the middle of the room once I was done, breathing heavy. I mentally ran through all the parts of my body that hurt, double checking myself for any serious injuries. I was a little battered and bruised, but other than that, I was fine.

Like I said, the best.

Once I'd caught my breath, I headed to the nearest computer terminal. Time to get what I came for and get the hell out of here before any of these guys woke up.

Of course, the thing was password protected. Thankfully, I had a solid base of knowledge in coding. That, coupled with the decoder chip a few of the CIA's best hackers had made for me, and I was past the encryption in no time.

I started clicking through some of the files on the computer, and I let out a low whistle when I saw all the information now at my fingertips.

"Shit. This really is everything," I whispered to myself.

I didn't waste another second before dumping everything I could find onto my hard drive.

Unfortunately for me, that many large files don't exactly transfer quickly. I paced the room while I waited, checking and double checking the doors and unconscious guards.

"Come on come on come on," I muttered, tapping my foot impatiently. Every second I wasted standing here was another second I risked getting caught. We needed this information as quickly as possible to stop some seriously bad people, and on top of that I knew nobody would come for me if I got caught.

It was all on me.

Finally—finally—the transfer finished. I made sure the flash drive was ready to eject, and then I quickly pulled it out of the computer.

Time for the less delicate half of my mission.

See, this organization ran on all the information on this computer. If they didn't have it anymore, their operations would take a serious hit. The CIA figured hey, since we already have an agent inside, they might as well blow up all traces of the original data once they have a copy.

I pulled out another flash drive, this one loaded with a virus that would crash the system once and for all. Not technically blowing anything up, but the effect would be the same.

I plugged in the flash drive and the systems immediately started crashing. Files were corrupted left and right, and there was nothing anybody could do to stop it now.

I pulled out the virus flash drive; it didn't need to be in the computer anymore to work, and I didn't want to leave any evidence.

Before I could turn around, I heard the click of a gun from behind me.

"Don't move," ordered a male voice.

Instead of listening, I slowly put my hands up and turned around. I wanted to know exactly what I was dealing with.

I came face to face with a tall, attractive guy with dark hair, holding a gun in my face.

"I said don't move," he said, giving me an annoyed look.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to see the face of the person pointing the gun at me."

"You responsible for the mess in the hallway?" he asked.

"Maybe. You responsible for cleaning it up?"

"I'm not with them, if that's what you're asking," he said, still not lowering his gun. "And since you pretty clearly aren't either, that begs the question: who the hell are you, and who sent you here?"

I didn't say anything. The phrase "CIA" usually didn't make me any friends, and I still had no idea who this guy was. I needed more answers myself before I told him anything.

"Tell me who you are, now, or I'll shoot you in—" The guy cut off as he noticed the implosion happening on the computer screens behind me. "What the hell did you do?"

He rushed over to me, spinning me around roughly and shoving the gun against my head.

"Fix it. Now."

"No can do," I said brightly, trying to ignore the feeling of cold metal against my scalp. "I'm not really a computer person, but I've been told this virus is irreversible."

The guy growled. I could tell he was figuring out what to do next.

"Why did you scrub the computers?" he demanded. He kept the gun pressed into my head with one hand, and with the other he started searching my pockets. Sooner or later he would find my badge or the flash drive that wasn't in my hand, but I wasn't about to just wait around. It was time to move while he was distracted.

"I have my reasons..." As the guy's hand reached into the inner pocket of my jacket and his fingertips brushed my badge, I swung around and ducked before shoving the arm holding the gun up with as much force as I could.

The guy was caught completely off guard, and I got a good shot in straight to his abdomen before he could recover.

Unfortunately for me, once he did recover, he proved to be a much tougher opponent than all the guards I'd faced combined.

Clearly he was well trained in combat, and it took every ounce of focus I had to get the gun away from him and keep him from getting me on the ground.

As soon as the fight started, I threw both flash drives on the desk. He wouldn't find them if I kept him too distracted to look, and this way he could just take one out of my hand or pocket.

I managed to wrestle the gun from him, and I quickly unloaded it before he could take it back. I tossed the now-empty gun to the other side of the room, but before I could do anything else my opponent grabbed me around the waist and slammed me up against the wall. He quickly reached back into my pocket and ripped out my badge as I struggled against him. I whipped my head back and made contact with his nose. He stumbled back, and I moved away from him before crouching into a fight stance, ready to go a second round and get out of here.

He was holding the bridge of his nose, taking a minute to open my badge and see who I was with. While he was distracted, I carefully reached over to the console and slipped the flash drives back into my pocket.

The new plan was to just get past this guy, as quickly as possible, and sprint the hell out of here.

"You're CIA?" he asked harshly, scowling down at the badge in his hand like he couldn't believe it.

"Yup. Now give me my badge back and get the hell out of my way, or I'll make you."

The guy rolled his eyes and pulled something out of his pocket, then tossed it to me with my badge.

"I'm SHIELD."

I squinted at him, then at the thing he'd thrown me--his own badge--not quite able to believe that could be true. Had I really spent all that time fighting someone who was supposed to be an ally?

I looked carefully at the badge, trying not to turn my attention from this guy—Agent Grant Ward, according to his badge—for long. After a thorough examination, I decided it was real.

This guy really was a SHIELD agent.

"Ugh, you're kidding me," I said, rolling my eyes and tossing him back his badge. "Well Grant, nice to meet you. Sorry about your nose. Now get out of my way."

"Why did the CIA send you in here to wipe the computers?" he demanded, instead of doing what I said. "You should want the information on this group as badly as we do."

"We do. That's why I made this first." I slipped one of the flash drives out of my pocket, holding it up to show to Ward. I had no intention of giving it to him, so it didn't really matter if it was the right flash drive or not.

"Of course. You made a copy, and now you're destroying everything so they lose their operating system. Not bad, for the CIA." I grinned, but Ward still didn't move to let me pass, which I didn't like. I had a bad feeling about how this was going to end.

Ward quickly confirmed my suspicions, taking a few steps forward before speaking up again.

"I'm going to need that flash drive from you."

"Yeah, not gonna happen Agent Ward. This case officially belongs to the CIA."

"Nice try, but we have a solid claim to it too. It could be SHIELD's jurisdiction just as easily as yours."

"Hm, well, go ahead and take that up with your boss when you get back. Maybe we can do a joint investigation. CIA will lead, of course, since we have a flash drive full of all the information related to the case."

"Not for long."

With that Ward rushed towards me. I was kind of expecting it, so I managed to brace myself, but he still caught me around the waist and slammed me back into the counter full of keyboards.

He rested his entire weight on me to keep me in place, and my GOD he was heavy. I wiggled one way and then another, trying to break free, but before I could make any real progress he grabbed my wrist in an iron grip. With his other hand, he started reaching for the flash drive, but I still had an advantage: I still had one hand free.

I grabbed his free hand before he could get to the flash drive and pushed him back as hard as I could. I tried to get a look at the flash drive (if it was the one with the virus, I'd gladly give it up and get out of here), but between the SHIELD agent leaning all of his weight on me and the dim lighting in the computer room I couldn't make it out.

I'd just have to find a way to leave with both flash drives. Time to change tactics.

I quickly let go of Ward's arm and instead shoved my hand in his face, pushing him back by the forehead. He wasn't expecting it, so it worked and he let me go as he stumbled back. I didn't waste a second before sprinting past him and towards the control room door.

I'd almost made it when I felt something slam into the back of my knees, taking me to the ground. Before I knew what was happening, Ward had me flipped over onto my back and was straddling my waist, trying to grab both of my hands.

I swore under my breath as I squirmed, trying to get free and look for some inspiration to help me. Dimly, I registered a keyboard laying on the ground just a few inches away.

"Did you throw a keyboard at me?" I groaned, still trying to recover from hitting the ground.

"A good agent uses their surroundings," he said simply, finally managing to pin down one of my wrists. I kept flailing the other one (the one with the flash drive) around, hoping to buy enough time for me to come up with a plan.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. The keyboard was near my feet, and if I could just reach it...

I kicked the keyboard with my shoe, then managed to drag it across the floor a little closer to me. Ward was a few steps ahead of me; he managed to grab my other wrist and pin them both above my head.

"Come on," I swore lowly under my breath. If I could just get the keyboard between my feet and pick it up...

Ward switched his grip, so that he was using one hand to hold both of my wrists. With his free hand, he ripped the flash drive out of my grip.

At the same time, I managed to get a hold of the keyboard. I swung my legs up with as much velocity as I could manage, whacking it against the back of his head.

"Argh!" Ward yelled and fell forward, letting go of me to brace himself. I didn't waste a second before hitting him again, this time square in the face. He fell backwards, and I ripped the flash drive out of his hands before turning and sprinting out of the room.

"A good agent uses their surroundings!" I called over my shoulder as I made it into the hallway. As much fun as it would be to stay and tease him a little, I didn't want to risk losing the flash drive again.

Who knew SHIELD had such capable agents?

I ran back out the way I came, heading for the exit at top speed. I made it about halfway there before hearing footsteps behind me, sprinting as fast as I was.

Probably a safe bet to assume that was Grant Ward, up and running once again.

Fortunately for me, my exit point included a gate that shut and locked from the side I wanted to be on. All I had to do was reach it before Ward, and I'd be safe.

His footsteps kept getting closer, but I didn't dare risk a glance back. I couldn't let anything distract me from running as fast as humanly possible to my exit point.

I rounded the last corner, and by now it sounded like Ward was only a few steps behind me at most. I poured on a last burst of speed and raced through the doorway, hitting the button to slam the gate into place just in time.

I turned around to see Agent Grant Ward stuck on the other side of the gate, absolutely seething at me through the bars.

I just smiled at him.

"Pretty impressive Agent Ward," I said, walking as close to him as I dared. "But not quite good enough."

Before I knew what was happening he surged forward and reached through the bars, but he was still a few inches short.

"This is not over," he growled, staring me dead in the eyes.

"Actually, it is." I started walking away from him, but then I paused and turned back. "You know, I was half serious about that joint investigation idea. It might be kind of fun working with you."

Ward rolled his eyes, which made me grin.

"Better luck next time, Grant." I winked at him and continued walking. I called over my shoulder, "You might wanna start thinking about getting out of here! Those guards I took out are gonna be pretty nasty when they wake up."

With that, I rounded a corner out of sight of Agent Grant Ward. I relaxed my confident posture and just focused on getting the hell out of there. I beat him this time, but honestly, I hoped I never had to do that again.

Grant Ward was quite the agent.


End file.
